Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

by · The Cerbat Gem

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on LH. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $235.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $253.00.

Get Our Latest Analysis on LH

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $215.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $238.46. The company’s 50-day moving average is $224.39 and its 200 day moving average is $211.95.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.61 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 57.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at $833,273.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.5% during the third quarter. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 34,026 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,604,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $84,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,107 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,068 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 6.5% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 17,104 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.

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